The Red Ghost
by ManateeMama
Summary: Brenda is confronted by a dangerous ghost from her past. This story is a Halloween gift to my readers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story takes place late in Season 3.**

**Chapter 1:**

Brenda and Fritz were munching popcorn and watching the movie they'd rented, but even though his beautiful fiancée was snuggled under his arm, Fritz's mind wasn't on her or on the romantic comedy playing out on his DVR.

"Honey, why don't we decorate the house this year?" Fritz was in the mood to celebrate by doing more than deliberately buying too much Halloween candy.

This caught Brenda off guard. She hit the pause button and focused on Fritz. "Decorate the house? You mean _inside_ the house? What on earth for?"

"It would set the mood."

Brenda rolled her eyes, "But if it's anythin like the last two years Priority Homicide will get called into work and you'll be answerin the door by yourself. Do you plan on invitin the kids in?"

"No, but when we open the door people will see that we've decorated. I think we need to wear costumes too."

"What part of bein called into work did you not understand?" His burst of enthusiasm clearly had taken her by surprise.

"Didn't you tell me that Pope decided that he could save money this year if Priority Homicide didn't work Halloween?"

"Yes, he did say that," she admitted. "But that means just about everythin would fall on Central Bureau and Taylor is never gonna allow that to happen. We always have to take the hard stuff so Central can take care of all the nuisance calls."

"Given how much focus Pope's putting on cost cutting I was hoping that maybe he meant it this year."

"That would be nice, but I guarantee you that Taylor's screamin will win out."

"Let's rent costumes anyway. Who knows? Maybe you won't get called out until after the kids finish their Trick or Treating."

"Why does Halloween mean so much to you, anyway?"

"I don't know. Maybe because last year you were on administrative leave and so depressed that you couldn't enjoy Halloween or Thanksgiving at all."

"Yes, but…"

"And we had so much fun two years ago, remember?" Fritz pushed on with a wink and a smile.

Brenda couldn't help but smile in return. "True. But the way I remember it, costumes didn't play any part in the fun that we had." She put her arms around his neck and said, "As a matter of fact, I distinctly remember that the only part of the fun that clothin played was when we took it all off."

"I definitely remember that. And you're right. That was the best part," Fritz agreed and kissed her.

* * *

"Fritz, what are you doin? We need to check out and go buy the candy." Brenda was standing in the aisle of the Hollywood Costume Emporium while Fritz, his arms loaded down with both her Cleopatra and his Mark Antony costumes, was trying to look at decorations. "You're about to drop your helmet."

"I think we at least need to decorate the front porch," he said, ignoring Brenda's warning, "Let's see. There's an electric outlet on the porch. These are some great cobwebs. They're fiber optic and they change color."

"Fritz! They're fallin. Grab your helmet," Brenda cried in exasperation as she attempted to catch the costume falling from Fritz's grasp. His centurion's helmet and her arm bracelets clattered to the floor.

"Here, I'll take these up to the register while you check out those pumpkins. I think we should get a big one for the porch and a little one for the front window. We can carve some real ones to sit on the steps."

As she stood there watching Fritz scoop up their costumes and take them up to the cashier her irritation was infused with amusement. _He's just like a kid in a candy store._ But she saw him saying something to the man behind the counter and a small groan escaped her when she saw the cashier give him a shopping cart. _Why is he bein so impossible? We're never gonna get out of here._

When Fritz returned with a triumphant smile, Brenda asked, "Do we really need a buggy? We're not buyin the whole store."

"The sign said if we rented costumes we'd get a discount on other decorations. I definitely want one of those big cobwebs and one of those ghosts, too. Did you look at the pumpkins?"

"No. I'm much more interested in buyin the candy," Brenda explained as Fritz put one of the cobwebs, a witch, and a ghost into the cart.

Fritz was at a loss to understand Brenda's disinterest in the decorations but he just replied, "They have candy up front by the check-out."

"I saw that when we came in but it's not the good kind. We need to go to the grocery store to get the kind I like."

Fritz knew that Brenda wanted to buy way too much chocolate candy so that she would have an excuse to stuff most of it into her candy drawer, in spite of Dr. Dioli's admonition that she should give up all sweets. But he also knew that bringing up the doctor's instructions would provoke a fight, which he really didn't want to have in public, and which he knew wouldn't do any good anyway. So he ignored the candy issue and just said, "Let's get one of these big pumpkins and this mummy for the porch and a small pumpkin for the front window."

"And then you'll be satisfied? Because if you buy anythin else there won't be room on the porch for the kids," Brenda said in an exasperated tone.

"And then we can get some candy. But I think we should buy it here so we can get the discount and then we'll be completely done. The kids will like it. It's candy, so what's not to like?"

Fritz had wisely left his last sentence about her not being able to eat it unspoken but Brenda read his mind. "I'll look at it when I get up there. But if it's not good enough I'm not buyin it," she said firmly.

Brenda's intense scrutiny of the brightly colored cellophane candy bags banked in the aisle next to the checkout lines amused Fritz. _I think I know where the expression 'like a kid in a candy store' originated_, he chuckled to himself. However, he knew which side of the discretion vs. valor struggle he needed to be on, and decided to serve his own self-interest. He would wisely keep his thoughts to himself.

After checking out of the grocery store with bags of chocolate candy, they were finally finished and on their way home. Fritz looked at the green glow of his car's clock and realized that he just might be able to catch the fourth quarter of the 49ers game. But Brenda had other ideas.

"All this shoppin has made me hungry. I sure would like some ice cream," she said wistfully.

"Don't we have some of your sugar-free ice cream in the freezer?" Fritz asked as he saw his game's time clock running out.

"Yes, but there's a Cold Stone Creamery on the way home and Detective Daniels said that their Double Chocolate Devotion ice cream cupcakes are better than sex," Brenda asserted.

He knew the sugar issue was completely dead so he just replied, "Hmmm. I'm guessing that if we don't stop, I'll never get to test that comparison?"

"You got that right, mister, so just turn left at the next light," Brenda said brightly.

"So, if I take you there, do you promise that I'll get to check out Detective Daniels' hypothesis when we get home?" he grinned.

Brenda laughed and said, "We'll see. Just get into the turnin lane."

* * *

Halloween night, after putting on their costumes, Brenda turned to Fritz and adjusted his tunic, "Mmm, mmm, mmm. Now I understand why Cleopatra flipped out over Mark Antony."

Fritz put his arms around her and replied, "You've always been a sucker for a military man."

"It's my upbringin. I love male authority figures," she admitted. She pushed him away and began stuffing blonde hair beneath a black wig. As he tried to draw her back into his embrace she laughed, "Easy there, big fella. Go make sure there's plenty of candy in the bowl and the pumpkins are all lit."

"You know, I just decided I love Egyptian women. They've got an air of sexual intrigue," Fritz said with a grin.

"Cleopatra wasn't Egyptian. She was Macedonian Greek," Brenda retorted.

As he let her go, Fritz continued his teasing, "And did you know that Mark Antony was the father of Cleopatra's first two children?"

"Oh, you are so subtle. It's a good thang this is the twenty-first century and birth control is very effective."

Fritz sighed, "Sometimes I really wish for the good old days."

"Just go and make sure everythin is ready while I get this wig on right, will you please?"

Fritz checked the candy bowl and noticed that quite a bit of it was already missing, even though not one child had rung their bell yet. As he topped off the candy he hoped that they'd have enough Trick or Treaters to take it all. Then he put on the CD of spooky sounds he'd picked up at a convenience store when he'd paid for gas.

That CD and the decorations seemed to draw all the neighborhood children and both Brenda and Fritz enjoyed answering the door. They oohed and ahhd over each child's costume but they were both happy when the steady stream of children had tapered to a slow drip. Finally, they were able to just sit and relax with mugs of hot, spiced cider.

Several minutes later when the doorbell rang again, Brenda set her cider down and said, "It's gettin late. I thought the kids were finished comin. Oh well, I guess it's my turn," she sighed as she got up and headed to the door. But she was surprised to see a grown man in a Guy Fawkes mask who didn't say a word. He just handed Brenda a cupcake with a white flag on it. Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

She turned and walked back into the living room with the cupcake. When Fritz saw it, he asked, "What's that? Who was that?"

"I don't know. A man in a mask just handed this to me and left. He didn't say anythin to me."

"Well, Cleopatra had strange powers. Men all over the world fell in love with her," Fritz teased as Brenda sat beside him on the couch.

"Wait a minute. There's some writin inside this flag," she said as she removed the note glued to a toothpick and read it to herself.

_My Liebchen, I've had many years to think about you and I look forward to seeing you again. Soon, my Liebchen, soon._

She was momentarily frozen. Her heart stopped beating for a minute and her stomach rolled.

Fritz saw her face turn white. Immediately, his body tensed and he was on full alert. "What is it? What does it say?"

"Nothin, Fritzi, It's just a practical joke." Brenda's voice was shaky.

Fritz was unconvinced. "No, it's no joke. You're as white as a ghost. Tell me what it says," he demanded. When Brenda didn't respond he took the note from her hand and read its small, precise printing. "This sounds like a threat. Do you know who sent it?"

She looked at him and knew that she had to tell him something. But what, and how much? She wasn't sure, so she said, "I think it's from a man in one of my old cases. Years ago. He's supposed to be in prison."

"Who is it?" When she didn't reply, Fritz continued, "Well, if he's supposed to be in prison, it should be easy to confirm."

"Right. I'll make some calls tomorrow," Brenda said in a distracted voice before her mind snapped back to the present. "It's gettin late so I don't think we'll have any more Trick or Treaters. Come on, let's clean up in here," and she picked up their cider mugs and went into the kitchen.

But Fritz wasn't ready to drop the subject. He followed her and asked, "Was it one of your old Metro or Atlanta cases?"

"Ummm, no."

"So it's a CIA case," he concluded. "Well that really is an old case, then. But you're not exactly reassuring me, Brenda. So why don't you just tell me what this is all about?"

Brenda sighed and closed the dishwasher door. "I don't know what I can tell you right now. I'm gonna have to make some calls tomorrow and then I'll tell you as much as I can. I promise."

Fritz started to speak but Brenda interrupted him, "Fritzi, you know the protocol as well as I do. You know I can't talk about it yet."

"Ok, but promise me that you'll call Elaine Donahue first thing tomorrow morning."

"Elaine? Why?"

"She's now the Chief of Station here. Didn't you know that?"

"Elaine is the new COS? No, I didn't know that. When did that happen?"

"Not too long after Richard Branch was arrested. She's had the job for almost a year now."

"Good. I'm glad that we wrote those letters tellin how instrumental she was in catchin Branch. They must have helped her. I'll call her tomorrow," Brenda promised.

She got up and moved to the door. Looking out the window, she saw no one on the street. The Halloween decorations on the porch swayed in the breeze and her eyes were drawn to the ghost. Instead of the happy grin she had seen when she hung it up, she now saw an evil leer, and a shiver went through her. She turned off the porch light and turned away from the apparition.

_To Be Continued…_

**Please don't let yourself be haunted by the fact that you didn't take a minute to leave a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The next morning as he was closing his briefcase, Fritz looked up at Brenda and said, "You know, if this guy knows where you live, he also knows where you work."

"I know. I thought about that last night. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"Just remember to watch out for surveillance, and if you get called to a crime scene, stay with your squad. And don't wear anything too brightly colored. You don't want to make yourself a target."

"Yes, sir," Brenda replied in a mock salutary tone, "I won't, sir."

"All right, go ahead and tease me. But just remember that until I get more information, I'm going to be imagining the worst that can happen and worrying about you all day." Fritz moved to her, put his arms around her and continued, "Which is why I'm probably going to drive you nuts all day long calling to check on you."

"Oh, please don't do that. You really will drive me crazy. Besides, if this guy is who I think he is, he isn't a sniper. And Parker Center is the safest place I can be. I'll be fine," she smiled at him and kissed him. "Now, get to work. If you're late as well as distracted, everyone will blame me."

"They'll just think Mark Antony got really lucky last night and everyone will be incredibly jealous of me," Fritz said as he wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

This made Brenda laugh and she replied, "Your chariot awaits, my lord. Don't be late on my account."

"Yes, your royal highness," and he kissed her goodbye.

* * *

On her way into the office, Brenda stopped at a convenience store and paid cash for a pre-paid cell phone and a charger as well as several cards for extra minutes. When she got to her office, she locked the door, closed the blinds, and set up the phone. Then she found Richard Branch's old business card. _I'll bet the phone number is still the same, _she thought as she punched in the numbers. When the secretary answered, Brenda asked for Elaine Donahue but was told that she was not yet in the office.

"Please tell her that Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson of the LAPD called. It's urgent that I speak with her," and Brenda gave her the burn phone number. Then she went out into the Murder Room.

"Lieutenant Provenza, since I didn't receive a phone call last night, I'm assumin that we don't have anythin pressin to deal with this mornin?"

"Not yet, Chief, but I rode up in the elevator with Taylor so I'm sure things will get busy just as soon as he looks to see what he can dump on us," Provenza replied.

"In that case, I'm gonna catch up on some paperwork while we wait, and I'd suggest that y'all do the same."

"Yes, Chief," Provenza nodded as Brenda turned and walked back into her office. She locked the door behind her and kept the blinds closed. First she checked her new phone to see if she'd missed a return call from Elaine. She hadn't. So she plunged headlong into organizing her notes on her division's performance since their last annual review. _Will always nags me for these reviews so I'm gonna try to surprise him by gettin them in early. _

Her desk was littered with scraps of paper and sticky notes as well as notes scrawled on the backs of candy wrappers. While the casual observer would swear that a dumpster had dropped its contents on her desk and the items had fallen in no particular order, Brenda knew what was on every scrap of paper and where each had found its home on her desk.

She was hard at work when she was interrupted by the unfamiliar ring of her new cell phone. After answering it she recognized Elaine Donahue's raspy voice. _Too many years of smokin,_ flashed through Brenda's mind.

"Hello, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. Are you trying to impress my secretary with your title?"

The familiar voice drew a smile from Brenda. "Hello, Elaine. I'm sorry about that, but I felt I needed to make an impression so my message would stay on top of her pile."

"It worked. I'm returning your call first. Now, what can I do for you?" Elaine asked with good humor in her voice.

"Are you callin me from a secure phone?"

"I'm calling from my desk. It's secure. Why?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just jumpy, I guess. I need to meet with you just as soon as you can arrange it."

"This does sound urgent. I'll text you a time and place. Should I use this number?"

"Yes, it's a good phone. Thanks Elaine, I really appreciate it."

Elaine knew that "a good phone" meant an untraceable burn phone. That fact, plus the stress in Brenda's voice, told her that this was serious enough to bump someone. So, after looking over her calendar, she texted Brenda to meet her at 15:30 at an out of the way coffee shop. Then she took a quick look at the overnight message traffic from FBIS trying to anticipate what Brenda was going to tell her. But the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service didn't have anything she thought could even remotely be pertinent to any case that Brenda would be involved in. So she picked up the phone to tell one of her operatives that she'd have to move their meeting to the end of the day.

* * *

Fritz was finding it hard to concentrate. He kept staring at the pictures of Brenda on his desk, especially the one of her with her head on his chest and smiling her million watt smile. He remembered that trip to the San Diego Zoo and how she had laughed with such abandon at the antics of the monkeys. She had been happy and safe and without a care in the world.

But his thoughts kept going back to how frightened she looked when she read that note last night. He had known she was correct when she had said that the safest place for her was at Parker Center. But he had no way of knowing if she had been called out to a crime scene. Was she being followed? She had said this guy wasn't a sniper, but was she right?

He desperately wanted to hear her voice, to satisfy himself that she was safe. Several times he had picked up the phone to call her but he remembered her pleading with him not to call and had stopped. He stared at the clock. The day was crawling by and he didn't know if he'd be able to handle not calling her for the rest of the afternoon.

He sighed and headed down the hall for more coffee. Even though coffee wasn't what he needed he was restless and had to move.

* * *

On her way to meet Elaine, as Brenda watched for surveillance, she thought about Fritz's vow to bug her with calls all day long. It was 3:00 in the afternoon and he hadn't called her yet. Brenda didn't know whether to be relieved, disappointed, or annoyed. She decided she was all three. _I claim my right to have conflictin feelins about anythin he does anytime I please,_ she mentally declared.

Elaine was sitting at an outside patio table having a cigarette and, when Brenda walked in and sat down, she signaled for the waiter. When they both had ordered coffee and a piece of cake, Elaine asked the waiter not to seat anyone at any table near them. Since it was not busy, he had no difficulty agreeing to her request.

"Now, what's this about, Brenda?"

"Before I get into that, I want to congratulate you on makin COS."

"Thanks, but it's just temporary. I've asked to transfer back to Langley. Elaine much prefers being an analyst to all the bureaucratic bullshit she has to deal with now. Besides, Cynthia drives me crazy. Now, since we have the niceties out of the way, what's the problem?"

Brenda loved Elaine's direct approach. It mirrored her own. So she reached into her purse and pulled out the note. As she handed it to Elaine she explained, "Last night a man in a Guy Fawkes mask rang my doorbell and handed me a chocolate cupcake with this note glued to a toothpick on top, like a flag."

Elaine read the note and said, "He called you 'Liebchen'. So you think that Károly Pollatsik gave you this?"

"No one else has ever called me that. And there's no context in which anyone else would ever call me that. But the man in the mask wasn't Pollatsik. He was shorter and heavier set. Károly now walks with a limp, was quite slender, and I doubt he gained weight in a Russian prison."

"No, I'm sure he didn't," Elaine chuckled. "But we haven't heard anything about Pollatsik since he was imprisoned. Let me make a couple of calls. If this is indeed him, someone will know something."

"Thank you, Elaine," Brenda sighed in relief. It was good to have her help, especially since she couldn't involve the LAPD.

"Don't thank me. If Pollatsik is on the loose we've got a huge problem. We need to get him back into prison. But first we need to make sure that it's him."

"Oh, it is, I'm sure of it."

"Brenda, you're no longer with the Company so, while you might be his primary target, you can't be directly involved in his capture."

"I'm already involved in this, and I'm not gonna just sit still waitin for Károly Pollatsik to try to kill me. Brenda looked for a softening in Elaine's expression and when she didn't see it she continued, "Either we work together, or my fiancé and I work by ourselves."

"Your fiancé? You know the rules. You can't be involved. And you certainly can't use another civilian."

"What I know is that Pollatsik is comin for me. He's toyin with me now, tryin to instill fear. But he's comin."

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

"Not really. I won't tell anyone at the LAPD. But my fiancé was with me last night when I got the note and he read it. All I've told him is that it's someone from an old case."

"Good. Don't tell him anything else."

"He lives with me, Elaine. Not tellin him would place his life in danger. Besides, he's ex-Company too. He had quite a bit more field experience than I had. And he's now a Special Agent for the FBI. I'm gonna tell him everythin. His name is Fritz Howard. Look up his file. He's completely trustworthy, and I'm gonna need his help."

Elaine saw that Brenda was not going to budge so she lit another cigarette and asked, "When do you plan to talk to him?"

"Tonight when I get home."

"I'll see what I can find out this afternoon, but I can't stress enough that having the both of you involved could place our agents in danger."

"I didn't ask for this, but I'm not sittin around and waitin to be victimized, either. You know how I worked last year. And I got Károly Pollatsik once before. I'm sure I can do it again."

"Well, I can't give you official sanction, but let me see what I can find out."

As Brenda rose she smiled at the older woman and said, "Thank you. I'll wait for your call."

* * *

When Brenda arrived back in the Murder Room she was surprised to find it empty. But not for long. Will stomped into her office with a scowl on his face. "Where have you been? I assigned a case to your squad and you weren't here," he accused.

"I had an appointment, Will. Tell me about the case and I'll start workin on it right away."

"Well, it was probably a murder-suicide," he admitted somewhat sheepishly. "But you should have been here just the same."

"Apparently Lieutenant Provenza felt they could handle it because he didn't call me," she observed.

"Just take a good look at the case before you allow it to be closed," and he walked out.

When the squad returned Brenda dropped the burn phone into her jacket pocket and walked out into the Murder Room. "Ok, everyone, bring me up to speed."

"It was a drug deal gone bad," Sanchez said.

"But we think it was a double homicide instead of a murder-suicide," Lt. Flynn added.

"That's right. Both bodies had multiple gunshot wounds. The coroner's investigator said it looked like both victims bled out instead of dying right away," Gabriel said. "It looks like they shot each other in some kind of gun battle. There were no signs anyone else was around so we're waiting for the preliminary autopsy and the report from SID."

"Did you make the notifications?"

"No IDs on either victim so we're waiting for prints and dental records," Flynn replied.

* * *

When Brenda greeted Fritz with a kiss that evening, he started to speak but she put a finger on his lips and whispered, "Be careful what you say. The house might be bugged."

As he steered her to the couch, Fritz reassured her. "You don't have to worry about that. I had our house swept this afternoon. It's clean."

Brenda sighed, "I know I'm just bein paranoid. And to prove it, did you sweep our cars too?"

"No, I swept mine. It's also clean, but yours was at Parker Center so we couldn't get to it without raising suspicion. Bring it over to our printshed after work tomorrow and we'll sweep it then. And no, you're not being paranoid. We need to do everything we can to keep you safe. Now, will you please tell me what this whole "Liebchen" thing is all about?"

Brenda started by telling him about her meeting with Elaine Donahue. "She said she'd call me and tell me what she finds out."

"Is that safe? Talking to her on your cell phone?"

"No, probably not. So I bought a burn phone this mornin and that's the number she has. If you want to talk to me about this case you'll need to use that number too."

"Talk to you about what? I still don't know anything, honey. You need to tell me what this is all about."

"I told Elaine that I was gonna tell you all about it. She didn't like it but I told her I'm doin it anyway. And I told her that you're ex-Company too."

Fritz was beginning to wish he had Brenda's interrogation skills so he could find out what was going on. "Ok, Brenda, so tell me." He didn't try to hide his irritation.

"Ok. There's only one man who ever called me 'Liebchen'. He is a Czech named Károly Pollatsik. We first caught sight of him when he was workin at a Russian nuclear weapons facility, Sverdlovsk-45 Oblast. Ever hear of it?" When Fritz nodded yes she continued, "He was an engineer who eventually went freelance and became the head of a large illegal arms network workin out of what was then Czechoslovakia. He aimed high and was tryin to sell technology and parts of nuclear weapons on the black market. We could never prove it, but we suspected that he was a linchpin in obtainin nuclear weapon materials and technology for North Korea. And it looked like he was settin his sights on sellin nuclear weapon materials to several Middle Eastern countries.

"I was part of the team assigned to track and stop him before that happened. It wasn't easy. He left a wide trail of blood wherever he went, but he was so elusive that his nickname was 'The Red Ghost'. He never got his own hands dirty so it was virtually impossible to pin anythin on him. My assignment was to find him and develop a relationship with him. So I met him at a government function in Turkey and he was infatuated with me. I used his feelins for me to set him up and we took him down."

"Were you a honey trap?" Fritz asked, but he instantly regretted his question. He knew she would interpret it as demeaning. He was right.

A flash of anger surged through Brenda. She knew from experience that every man in the Company had always wanted to assume that a successful, attractive female Non-Official Cover officer was a "honey trap", whose only useful function was to seduce targets in order to obtain intel.

"I'm sorry," Fritz apologized, "That was a stupid thing to say. I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I'm just trying to figure out why he's coming after you now, after all this time."

"Right," she bristled as she threw daggers at him. But she tamped her anger down quickly because the last thing she needed was for either of them to be distracted by their emotions. She decided that this particular fight would have to wait.

"No. I was a NOC on this case, but I didn't have an affair with him," she explained. "I just flirted with him. Hung on his every word, flattered his ego, that sort of thang. Until last night, as far as I knew, he was servin a life sentence in a Russian prison. Elaine says that the Company hasn't received any word that he's out."

"But he is out. He was here last night."

Brenda shook her head no, "That wasn't him. Károly Pollatsik is taller, slim, and walks with a severe limp, thanks to a bullet I put into him that shattered his thigh bone. We decimated all of his known associates so he's apparently developed a new staff. The messenger was heavier, didn't have a limp, and he didn't speak a word so I couldn't catch an accent. I just don't know."

"So, no one knows if this Pollatsik is in the United States at this point?"

"Not unless Elaine finds somethin. She's gonna check her resources and I should hear from her tomorrow."

"Do you have a plan?"

"No, not yet. I've been runnin different scenarios through my mind but I need more information and I don't know what I'm gonna have in the way of resources."

"You know I'll help in any way I can."

Even though he saw Brenda nod, Fritz knew he still had some more repair work to do. "Look, I'm really sorry about what I said a few minutes ago. That was a stupid, chauvinistic remark. I wish I hadn't said it. I know you were much more than a honey trap." He attempted to take her hand but she stiffened and withdrew it.

She had hoped to postpone this discussion but if he was going to insist on it, she wasn't going to run from it. "Every female NOC that I ever knew was way more than a honey trap, Fritz. But the men always wanted to think that's all we were good for. And you jumped to the same conclusion." Her accusatory tone made obvious her hurt and anger.

"All of my male co-workers and bosses wanted me to be a honey trap. They didn't think I could be anythin else. But I absolutely refused to sleep with any man just to gain information. That would have made me a prostitute. I decided who I would sleep with, not anyone else," Brenda said defiantly.

"But you were able to get what you needed from Pollatsik."

"Yes, I did. My boss was mad because of the extra time it took, but I got what we needed. It was about then that my boss decided I should transfer to Translations," she said ruefully.

"So your move to Translations was a punishment?"

"Well, he couldn't exactly put it that way because my team got special recognition for catchin Pollatsik, and they couldn't have gotten him without me. But that's what he intended it to be. He said I was substitutin my agenda for the Company's," she sneered. "My new boss put me into interrogations trainin pretty soon, though. She liked my work but thought I was bein wasted in Translations."

"I know that women agents did wonderful work. And, while I didn't work with you at the Company, I have no doubt that you excelled there too. After all, the Company asked for _your_ help last year. They didn't ask for mine."

Brenda, her anger softening, looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I meant it when I said I was sorry." Fritz saw the anger in her eyes disappear. "But I still don't understand why he's decided to risk his freedom by coming after you all these years later."

"First, I accept your apology. Second, I don't know why he's doin this. You're right, it doesn't make sense. He has nothin to gain by comin after me and everythin to lose."

"But he's made it clear that he is coming after you. And I promise that I will do everything I can to keep you safe and to help you catch him."

She took his hand in hers. "Thank you, Fritzi. I don't know if I could handle this without your help.

_To Be Continued…_

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

When Brenda walked into the murder room the next morning she asked, "Are there any updates on this double homicide?"

Lt. Tao answered, "Not yet, Chief. I called SID and they aren't finished processing the evidence yet. But they did tell me that they didn't find anything besides nine millimeter casings. One of the victims was clutching a nine mil Sig Sauer and there was another one next to the other victim."

"That supports the theory that these two men killed each other," Brenda observed.

Sgt. Gabriel added, "I called the Coroner's Office but they're backed up and haven't gotten to the victims yet."

"Have we made the notifications?"

"Chief, we have no ID on either victim so we don't know who to notify," Provenza said. He was puzzled because they had told her that yesterday and she had never forgotten any case details before.

"All right. Since we have nothin from them, and since there were no witnesses, I guess we wait. Let me know as soon as those reports are ready. Thank you, gentlemen." And Brenda turned and walked back to her office.

As the squad saw her once again lock the door and close the blinds, Flynn asked, "Does anyone know what's going on? She's never this secretive. And she just doesn't seem like her normal self."

"I don't think she's ever forgotten one detail of any of our cases before," Sanchez added. But no one had any idea what was going on.

Just as Brenda sat down, her desk phone rang. When she picked it up she heard a strange male voice ask, "Did you enjoy your treat? I hope so. It won't be long until the reunion." And then the caller clicked off.

Brenda sat for a moment thinking. _He has my extension number, and he blocked his own number. That call was too short to trace but I didn't notice any kind of an accent. S_he replayed each syllable of every word over and over in her mind. _Nothin unusual in his wordin. _She was frustrated that she hadn't had time to engage him so she could have heard more of his voice.

She then picked up her burn phone and called Elaine.

"Good morning, Brenda. I think I have some news for you, but it may not be good news."

"Well, I have news for you, too," Brenda said. "I just received a phone call," and she gave Elaine the details of the call as well as her thoughts about it and concluded, "Since there was no accent and nothin in his syntax that gave him away, I have to assume that he's an American. Also, there was no lag time and nothin in the line that would make me suspect that it was a long distance call so I'm also assumin he's in LA, and that it's probably the same man I saw on Halloween. I hope your news is better."

"I'm afraid not. We contacted the Russians and they said that he apparently faked a heart attack. So they transferred him to a prison hospital seventeen days ago and he disappeared from there."

"So, he must have bribed someone to help him," Brenda mused. "I wonder if that's someone who is workin for Pollatsik or if it's just someone who saw the chance to make a few more rubles."

"The Russians are looking into it but that's all the information we have now. We also contacted both Interpol and Europol and they did some checking overnight. They reviewed airport security footage and they caught who they believe to be Pollatsik arriving at the Zurich airport and departing on a flight to Dubai a week ago. Nothing after his arrival there except his departure in a cab. Europol sent us the airport footage. Do you want to come over and see it? I'd like you to identify him," Elaine explained.

"Yes, I would. I'd also like Fritz to see it. Do you mind?"

"Of course, I mind. But if anything happened to you I'd never forgive myself. Besides, Elaine owes you one. But I need you to come this morning. I'll be out of the office all afternoon."

"All right, I'll call Fritz and I'll be there as soon as I can." She immediately ended the call and dialed Fritz.

When Fritz saw the burn phone number on his Caller ID he answered right away. "Hi, honey. Is everything all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's all right. Hearing your voice is just what I need. But since you're calling on your new phone I'm assuming you're not calling to set up a nooner."

This made Brenda smile for the first time that day. "No, sorry about that. Elaine thinks she might have some recent footage of Pollatsik and I'd like us both to go take a look at it this mornin."

"Can it wait until afternoon? I promised Neal Fenley that I would go with him on one of his cases this morning."

"Actually, it can't. Elaine says she's gonna be out of the office all afternoon. But it's ok. I can go by myself. Maybe I can bring you a still so you can see what he looks like."

"No. I'm going with you. Just give me a minute to tell Neal he has to find someone else and I'll be right there."

Brenda was relieved. She knew the quality of European security footage was usually excellent but an enlarged frame would still be of greatly reduced quality. "All right. See you in a little bit. Thanks, honey."

During the drive to CIA headquarters Brenda told Fritz about the second message and added, "I wonder how Pollatsik has been able to recruit an American so quickly."

Fritz had to struggle to keep his voice steady. Just the thought of someone stalking Brenda and threatening her was almost more than he could handle. His reaction was to want to draw his gun and stay with her every minute of the day. But sweeping the house and their cars was the only practical thing he had been able to do to protect her. His sense of helplessness was driving him crazy.

"He certainly shouldn't have had access to anyone on the outside," Fritz said, "But if there was an accomplice, who knows?" Fritz spoke without any trace of strain in his voice that would have given away his emotions.

"Right, I've thought about that," Brenda replied. Then she told Fritz about a preliminary plan she had been mentally sketching.

* * *

They pulled into the parking lot of a rather innocuous gray stone and cinderblock office building which gave no indication that it housed an agency specializing in intelligence gathering and black ops.

_How fitting. A gray building for gray people,_ Fritz thought as he exited his car.

When they got to the security desk, they both flashed their badges, and the security officer said, "Yes, I was told to send you right up," and they were immediately waved in past screening. The security guard gave them directions as he handed them visitors badges. When they got to the COS office, the secretary buzzed them through and Elaine met them at the door.

Brenda made the introductions. "Elaine, have you ever met my fiancé, Fritz Howard?"

"I saw him at Richard Branch's arraignment but we were never introduced. Hello, Fritz, I'm glad to meet you. Although I should tell you that I had your personnel file overnighted to me so I feel like I know you already. You have quite an impressive record with the Company. They were sorry to see you leave."

"Well, thank you, Chief Donahue. I'm pleased to meet you too," Fritz replied with a smile.

"Please, call me Elaine. And forgive me for not asking before. May I call you Fritz?"

"Please do."

Suddenly, the social chit chat ended. "Ok, now that that's settled, let's get down to business. I've got the footage uploaded. Let's take a look, shall we?" As they took a seat at her table, Elaine picked up the remote control and played the video. "There he is. That's the man that Europol tentatively identified as Pollatsik."

They all leaned forward to study the black and white images of a slim, dapper man, wearing a light colored trench coat and using a hemi walker, enter the airport. Despite his adaptive equipment, it was obvious that he had only partial use of his right leg and that walking was painful for him. He appeared to be traveling alone. They watched as he sank into a wheelchair provided by an airport employee and was wheeled through security and down the concourse.

"We can't see his face." Brenda was frustrated.

"Wait," Elaine said as she fast-forwarded the film, "Here he is at the gate. He looks up for an instant when his flight is announced," and she paused the film.

"He's changed his appearance, but that's definitely him," Brenda confirmed.

_He probably was a handsome man at one time, _Fritz thought as he looked at the pinched, drawn face on the screen. _I guess that's what pain and prison does to a man. _ Then he asked, "Can we get a still of that frame?" He tried to memorize every detail of the well-dressed, goateed man who appeared to be in his early sixties. If he hadn't spent so many years in law enforcement he would never have believed that this now haggard and disabled man could pose a danger to anyone. But he had learned a long time ago that danger often took advantage of appearances.

"Of course. Elaine already had two copies made for you," and she handed them each a grainy photograph of Pollatsik.

"What was the name on his passport?" Brenda asked.

"Pál Pátzay. His passport is Hungarian, but we have no idea how many identities he's been able to rustle up by now."

"Pál?" Fritz asked.

"It translates to Paul," Brenda explained.

"You speak Hungarian?" Fritz was surprised.

"Not really, but the name is as common in Eastern Europe as Paul is here," she said.

Fritz refocused on the threat Pollatsik's movements posed. "If he is coming to the U.S. I'm sure he won't use the same identity twice."

But Brenda's mind had already moved on. "I didn't see any luggage."

"He checked it curbside but the image didn't give any details."

"I'm assuming that you've got people looking for him?" Fritz asked.

"Of course. We've put his information out on FBIS and have asked to be notified immediately if he's spotted. And we're monitoring airports in the surrounding countries. Of course, he could cross any one of several borders by car.

Brenda frowned and added, "Or, he could cross the Straits of Hormuz to Iran."

Fritz nodded. "Well, if he's coming to the United States it's doubtful he'd come by boat so he's bound to pass through an airport somewhere."

"If he's actually coming to the U.S.," Elaine said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Pollatsik never does anythin himself. He always has others do his dirty work," Brenda explained.

"So someone could try to kidnap you and spirit you out of the country," Elaine theorized.

This frightened Fritz. "Elaine, I was feeling better when you talked about your people searching for Pollatsik, but now I'm not feeling reassured at all."

"We'll catch him again. But until then I think it would be best if you and Brenda didn't stay at your house."

"You mean go into hidin?" Brenda hadn't thought about that. When Elaine nodded, Brenda vetoed that idea. "No. I'm not gonna hide. Pollatsik and his thugs are gonna be comin for me and I'm gonna be ready for them. I think we need to lay a trap for him and I'm gonna need your help. My plan isn't completely fleshed out yet. Since we know that 'Halloween Man' is workin for Pollatsik, we let him come to our house again and take him out. I think if we can frustrate Pollatsik that will force him to appear and he'll be spotted. That should make it easy to grab him."

"What makes you so sure that he'll come after you at your home?" Elaine asked.

"I don't honestly think he could grab me any place else. I'm really good at spottin surveillance and I'm always armed. Besides, comin after me in a heavily armed police station isn't gonna be easy. But just to make sure we draw him to the house, other than goin to work, I'm not gonna go anywhere alone until he's caught."

"He's smart and unpredictable. Don't underestimate him," Elaine cautioned. She considered the plan for a minute and then said, "I'm not comfortable using you for bait."

"Join the club." Fritz agreed with her.

"We have no choice. I'm the one Pollatsik's comin for so we need to use his focus on me to catch him. Look, I wish we had better information on where he is and what he's plannin, but this is what we've got. Does anyone else have a better plan?" Brenda challenged.

"The Company might be able to help you with the element of surprise," Elaine said. "We can put silent alarms around your house, infrared cameras which are virtually impossible to detect in the trees, on telephone and light poles, that sort of thing." When she saw Brenda nod in agreement, she continued, "They're not permanent. They're easy to put up and remove. We can rig up a infrared sensors in your house so no intruder would be tipped off. And we won't put any cameras inside your home unless you want them. And of course, if you agree, we can install a 'Trap & Trace' on your phones, too."

"Can't Trap & Trace be detected?" Brenda asked.

"The NSA has developed new devices that are impossible to detect," Fritz answered.

Brenda frowned, "Until Pollatsik is caught we won't have any privacy."

"Your privacy can be preserved. But I would strongly recommend that you surrender it until he's picked up."

"Unfortunately, I agree. Thank you. If Pollatsik or his men are gonna come to my house, all of this will help me a lot."

Fritz added, "Thanks, Elaine. I'm all for anything that will keep Brenda safe. Do you need access to the house to install your equipment?"

"If we're going to put equipment inside your home, yes. But you don't have to be at home for us to install it, unless you feel the need to be there. If you don't want the indoor equipment, we can do everything from the outside. All you're likely to notice are utility workers on poles across the street. A UPS driver will deliver a silent receiver the same day the devices are installed."

"Ok, I think we do want surveillance and communication equipment inside the house." Fritz replied.

Brenda laid down limits. "Except the bedroom and bathroom. I don't think we need equipment in those rooms. We need at least that much privacy."

Fritz nodded and added, "Thanks. We're very grateful for your help."

"All right, I'll requisition the equipment today," Elaine said.

"Oh, can you let me know the day before your installers come? I've got a cat and he's somethin of an escape artist," Brenda turned to add as she and Fritz said goodbye.

As they went out the door Elaine heard Fritz say, "_She_. _ She's_ something of an escape artist."

* * *

On Monday morning, Brenda's burn phone rang while she was listening to Tao report on the ballistics of the two guns at the crime scene. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Tao. I need to take this call," she apologized as she turned and walked back to her office.

"I'm telling you, something is going on," Flynn insisted. "When has she ever walked out on an evidence report? She hasn't been right for a week now."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, now is there?" Provenza retorted. "Let's all get some coffee while she takes that call."

It was Elaine. "Good morning, Brenda. I received something overnight that might be important. Pollatsik apparently has crossed into Saudi Arabia. He was seen being escorted by a young woman in her late 20s or early 30s. One of our assets says she's Lenora Sandoval, the daughter of a Guatemalan businessman. We're checking to see if that's her actual identity or a cover."

"Do we know what she's doin in Saudi Arabia?" Brenda asked.

"Not yet. We've got an asset working on it. The asset was able to get a good photo of her and send it along. When you get home tonight you'll find a sweepstakes entry envelope in your mail which you'll find very interesting."

"Thank you, Elaine. You don't know how much your help means to me."

"I certainly want to help you but I've got another agenda too. The Company needs to get Pollatsik back into prison. And, I have to tell you, Brenda, Langley doesn't think we can allow him to leave Saudi Arabia. We can't take the chance that his next destination will be Tehran. The DI issued an order for him to be picked up immediately."

"This went all the way up to the Director of Intelligence?"

"Yes, it did. I don't have to tell you that Pollatsik's escape poses a world-wide danger."

"But if you do that, his network will go underground and we'll lose the opportunity to get them."

"I appreciate your desire to help us but chances are his network is fairly small and probably not fully trained at this point. So far we know of one person for sure and possibly a second. I doubt Pollatsik has had time to do much with them at all. Law enforcement can handle them. But if Pollatsik gets to Iran, all bets would be off. We can't take that chance. He has too much nuclear weaponry knowledge."

"I understand," Brenda sighed, "Thanks for the picture." She swallowed her disappointment and walked back into the Murder Room to hear Tao's ballistic report.

* * *

When Brenda pulled around the corner to her house she didn't see Fritz's car in the driveway. _I sure hope he's bringin dinner. I'm starved_, she thought. She grabbed the mail from the box and found the sweepstakes envelope right away. But, when she opened the door she was met by another hungry family member. Kitty nearly tripped her while loudly complaining that her bowl was empty.

"I'm sorry, Kitty. I forgot to feed you this mornin," she apologized as she grabbed the food container and filled her bowl.

Then she carefully opened the envelope, pulled the photograph from among the sweepstakes material, and studied the picture of the stylish woman with medium length dark hair and prominent cheekbones. _She looks like she could be a runway model,_ she mused. Although there was something vaguely familiar about her, Brenda couldn't remember ever seeing her before.

She set the photograph down on the coffee table and went into the bedroom and changed her clothes before cleaning the cat's litter box. She was in the bathroom washing her hands when she heard the door open and she immediately stiffened and placed her hand on the gun in her jeans' waistband.

"Fritz, is that you?"

"Yes, did I scare you?"

"Sorry. I never thought I'd say this but I think I'll feel better when Elaine's equipment is installed and we're bein spied on." She walked into the dining room and kissed him. "What did you bring for dinner? I'm starved."

"I stopped at that new Vietnamese place on Ventura and picked up a few things to try. But I had no idea what anything on the menu was so we're just winging it tonight."

"Didn't you ask them to write the names on the cartons so we'll know which ones we like?" she asked as she removed the cartons from their bags. "Oh, you did. But they wrote it in Vietnamese. A lot of help that is," she laughed.

While eating, Brenda remembered the photograph. She retrieved it from the living room and showed it to Fritz. "There's somethin familiar about her but I can't think what it could be. Have you ever seen her before?"

"No, I don't think so. At least she doesn't seem at all familiar to me." He handed the photograph back to her. "Listen, I talked to CIA tech people today and they can put the transmitters in your shoes tomorrow morning. And they can install the inside equipment tomorrow afternoon."

"How come they called you instead of me?"

"I called them. Are you really going to quibble about which one of us got the information?" Fritz asked in exaspiration.

Brenda put the photograph down and, ignoring his question, replied, "I've got just the shoes in mind. They're old ones so if they get ruined it won't be such a terrible thang. But I sure hope he makes his move soon because those are not the shoes that I want to wear every single day for a long time."

Fritz nodded and continued, "Also, they told me about something else that might help, a watch with a mic and a radio transmitter in it. The transmitter is more powerful than the ones in your shoes."

"So I don't have to keep wearin the same pair of shoes every day?"

"Well, it's not a tracking device. And it's only transmitting when you turn it on, so you don't need to turn it on when there's nothing to hear. They can give it to you tomorrow, too. And I can give the frequencies to my agents so the Bureau can follow you, as well."

"Do you think that's necessary? It's been my experience that the more agencies that are involved the greater the chance for screw-ups," Brenda observed.

"Yes, I do. I want to make good and sure that you're covered by as many people as possible. Making our house ground zero is really dangerous."

"I didn't make our house ground zero. Pollatsik did that when he sent that man to our house," Brenda reminded him. "And you'd better talk to Elaine before you involve anyone else at the Bureau."

"I know. The CIA holds their cases even closer to the vest than you do."

"Ha. Ha." was the only rejoinder Brenda could come up with at the moment.

As their conversation dwindled, Fritz was struck by the fact that he really could lose Brenda. Of course, police officer was a dangerous profession but he reasoned that most of her work was done after the crime had already been committed. And the interview room was as safe as they could make it. She was usually accompanied by at least one other police officer and there were always members of her squad watching from the Electronics Room, ready to intervene if necessary.

But this was different, Fritz reasoned. The Red Ghost was coming after Brenda in order to exact some kind of vendetta, and the LAPD wouldn't be able to offer her any protection.

As he thought about the danger, he realized how fragile life could be, and that their happiness could be cut short at any moment. He was overwhelmed with the need to make the most of every chance they had to extract happiness from their daily lives. He folded her into his arms and kissed her.

"You know, those microphones they're going to install are very sensitive," Fritz murmured.

"Mmm hmm. So I've heard," Brenda nuzzled his cheek.

"So I think we'd better get all our extracurricular noise making out of the way tonight."

"That sounds like the best plan of all. But when do we start practicin our extracurricular quiet makin?" Brenda asked.

"We can start practicing being quiet tomorrow morning."

"Oooh, you are so good at plannin ahead," Brenda whispered as he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

_To Be Continued…_

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

The next morning, Brenda followed Fritz to the CIA lab and sat up on the counter swinging her stocking feet while a technician imbedded transmitters in both shoes. "These have a battery life of about a week so you'll need to come back in on Monday or Tuesday at the latest so we can change the batteries," the technician advised.

"I'm hopin that I won't need to do that."

"Now, hop down and walk around while I work on your watch. See if you feel the transmitters."

Brenda walked back and forth over the hard floor and then said, "No, I don't feel a thang. They're comfortable. Say, what about a video camera button?"

"Do you want to wear the same clothing without cleaning it every day until the surveillance ends?"

"Absolutely not!" Brenda was disgusted at the thought.

"I didn't think so," the technician chuckled. "Here's your watch. The mic will remain off until you activate it. Just squeeze it once so we can test and adjust it." Brenda did as she was shown while the technician adjusted the frequency.

"You mean it's not voice activated?" Brenda was surprised. "Why not?"

"No. If it were voice activated it would pick up too many extraneous sounds and the battery wouldn't last long enough," the technician explained. "Now squeeze it again to turn it off. Lightly. You don't need to apply so much pressure." Brenda turned it off. "Ok, now turn it on and begin talking." Again, Brenda did as she was asked. Then the technician turned to Fritz. "Agent Howard, go stand over by the door and start talking when I tell you."

After the adjustments to the frequency were made and the tests were finished, Fritz turned to the lab tech and asked, "You'll get these frequencies to Chief Donahue right away?" When the lab tech assured Fritz that he would, he walked Brenda to her car. "Now I'll know where you are every second of the day," he said as he kissed her goodbye.

"Why don't we just put a chip in my arm so all you'd have to do is blow a dog whistle and I'd come runnin?" Brenda asked.

"I think that's Plan B," Fritz chuckled and they said goodbye.

* * *

Lt. Provenza met Brenda as she stepped off the elevator. "Chief, we've ID'd the double homicide victims. They were two college students, a Ben Farenthal and Lucas Scheiber."

"Aren't they kind of old to be college students, Lieutenant?" Brenda asked as they walked down the hall toward the Murder Room.

"They were both Afghan War veterans who were going to college on the GI bill."

"I see. We need to interview the families," Brenda commented.

"Flynn and Gabriel notified their families last night. Both families said that they would come in this morning. Do you want to interview them?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I do. When they come, I want to interview each family member separately. Thank you."

When Brenda talked to each one of the parents, she learned that both victims served multiple tours of duty overseas. They had served in the same unit and had been honorably discharged after their last tour in Afghanistan. But they returned home addicted to heroin. The families were at a loss as to how they could help them since each had failed in drug rehab. And both were unemployed for several months before entering college on the GI bill. But one of the parents said that he had suspected that his son was involved in selling illegal drugs because he always had a lot of money.

When she was finished with the interviews, she told her squad that they could wrap up the case and assigned various parts of the paperwork to each person. Then she went to Chief Pope's office to tell him her findings.

"Thank you. Even though it was a foregone conclusion, I think you've certainly done due diligence on this case. Good work," he complimented her.

"Thank you. I'll pass along your thanks to the squad," and Brenda was finally able to leave for the day.

* * *

That evening, Fritz arrived home first. When he opened the front door, he saw an envelope on the floor and absentmindedly picked it up. It was addressed to "My Liebchen" and was in the same printing as the note on Brenda's cupcake. Immediately he put it down on the dining room table, making sure not to get any more finger prints on it.

When Brenda came through the door she took one look at Fritz's expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Someone slid a letter addressed to "My Liebchen" under the door sometime today. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and I picked it up so my prints will be on it."

"Oh, Fritz!"

"It was face down on the floor, and the last time we got a note under the door, it was the woman across the street announcing a new Neighborhood Watch program. I'm sorry. I just didn't think."

"That's ok. Did you open it?"

"No, it's addressed to you."

"I've got some gloves in the car. Let me get them and we'll open it." When Brenda returned she gave Fritz a pair of gloves and they carefully opened the letter and read,

_My dear Liebchen,_

_The time is at hand. Say your farewells._

"Well, he's puttin his plan into effect. I sure hope we have enough time left for ours," Brenda said. They just looked at each other for a moment.

Then Brenda called Elaine and read the note to her and agreed to bring it to the CIA headquarters first thing in the morning for analysis.

"Oh, and please ask Agent Howard to come too. We'll need to get a set of elimination prints from him," Elaine requested.

"Of course. He's feelin pretty embarrassed right now."

"Tell him not to feel too bad. Pollatsik is so careful that I doubt we'll find anything, anyway. He's not going to slip up again. Oh, and you can get a good night's sleep because, starting tonight, Elaine is assigning a detail to watch your house. And she is going to have her people analyze the footage from all those cameras we've got around your place."

"Thank you, Elaine." As Brenda hung up the phone she turned to Fritz and told him what she had to say.

* * *

Over the state of Missouri, a sleek, silver private jet was slicing through the night sky. Inside, a folded wheelchair leaned against the far wall while an impeccably dressed man in the luxurious leather seat pulled his gaze from the stars and asked his attendant, a striking young woman with medium length dark hair and high cheekbones, to get his pain medication and a glass of bourbon. "How I wish to purchase more of this most wondrous elixir while we are in the United States. But, alas, our brief time does not permit," Pollatsik sighed in Czech.

As Margit turned to prepare his medication the phone mounted on the wall beside him rang. When he picked up the phone he heard his assistant's voice saying, "The final note has been delivered."

"Ah, good. And have you prepared our location?"

"Yes, the location is secured. And as well I have prepared the alternate transportation you requested. It will be ready as soon as you land." The assistant stumbled through in Czech, heavily laced with his American accent.

"Excellent," the man smiled and responded, "You have performed well."

"Do you remember our arrangement?" the assistant asked.

"Of course, my good and faithful Rudy. I have deposited 375,000 Euros to your account in Zurich. That is 500,000 American Dollars. The second half will be deposited after I see her blood soar like a fountain."

"I go now to complete our arrangements," Pollatsik heard the assistant say and he hung up the phone.

When Margit brought him his pain medication, he looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you, my dear. And now I wish to sleep. I will be refreshed for a most satisfying end to our journey, yes?" And he grimaced as he swallowed the bitter concoction. Then he smiled again as he swallowed the bourbon, leaned back, and shut his eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Fritz followed Brenda to the CIA headquarters. Brenda had placed the envelope with the note into a plastic baggie and had put it in her purse. Elaine called a member of her forensics team to examine the note and its envelope. Unfortunately, as suspected, only Fritz's finger prints were on the envelope and there were no prints on the note.

"I was afraid of that," Elaine said, "But we may have better luck with the video footage. Here it is," and she pressed the remote control. They all saw split screen images of a man walking up to Brenda's porch and sliding an envelope under the door. Then, keeping his head low, he turned and got into a blue Ford sedan. The license plate number was plainly visible, however.

"I think that's the same man who came to my house," Brenda confirmed.

"We checked on the plate and it was reported stolen last night. So, for now at least, that's a slim lead. But it may pay off. Now, Elaine has two other items to tell you about."

"I hope it's some good news. I could really use some right about now," Brenda said.

"No, I'm afraid there isn't any good news in this case," Elaine replied. "But at least it's probably useful information. We've identified Pollatsik's companion. Her name is Margit Bálint."

Brenda's surprise was evident on her face. "Bálint? As in Viktor Bálint?"

"She's Viktor's daughter," Elaine said.

Brenda turned to Fritz, "That's why she looked familiar to me. Viktor Bálint was Pollatsik's second in command. He was killed in the take down." Then she turned back to Elaine, "So Margit isn't Guatamalan, after all. She's Czech and she's now working for Pollatsik. Well, like father, like daughter."

"Also, Interpol says that Pollatsik and Margit left Saudi Arabia aboard a private jet owned by a wealthy Saudi businessman. The flight plan destination was listed as Washington, DC."

"Can that plane fly that far without refueling?" Fritz asked, "Because if they stop to fill up we can grab them."

"They stopped for refueling in London and my people tell me that that plane can easily fly from London to DC on a full tank," Elaine replied. "So, Pollatsik is in the United States. We've put the information out on FBIS and we have people looking for him."

Fritz was puzzled. "What I still don't understand is why Pollatsik would risk his freedom by coming after Brenda after all this time."

Elaine shook her head. "My guess is that he's narcissistic and blames Brenda, not only for catching him and wounding him, but for destroying his self-image. And he's acting out a vendetta."

"That makes sense," Brenda agreed. "Károly Pollatsik was certainly preoccupied with his image. He always had to have the best of everythin."

"Well, now that he's on U.S. soil, I can get the Bureau involved," Fritz said. "The more people looking for Pollatsik the better."

Elaine was not pleased. Clearly allowing another agency to participate in such an important mission was going to create problems for the Company. "I have to insist that you hold off on that, Fritz. You have my word that I will mobilize all the resources necessary to catch Pollatsik and his crew. But I don't want anyone tipping them off that we know they're here."

"All right. But we need every available pair of eyes searching for this guy," Fritz cautioned.

"Well, thank you, Elaine," Brenda sighed, "The news isn't good but I really appreciate all the work you're puttin in on this case."

"Believe me, Pollatsik's escape has scrambled more than just my agenda. Langley is video conferencing me every day on this. We'll find him. Oh, one more thing about the car," Elaine added, "The owner reported it to the LAPD as stolen, so if it turns up, let me know."

"Of course I will. Thank you again," Brenda replied and turned to go.

"Apparently we've entered the final quarter of Pollatsik's little game. Be very careful," Elaine cautioned as Brenda and Fritz nodded and left.

Fritz followed Brenda's car into the Parker Center's parking garage and pulled up behind her designated space. He rolled down his window as Brenda walked up to his car.

"We're not quite ready yet so be extra careful today, sweetheart. Stay in your office if you can. And don't leave your office tonight until I get there, ok?"

"I'll be fine, Fritzi. You worry too much about me," Brenda replied and kissed him goodbye.

"I love you too much not to worry about you," was his reply.

Brenda smiled, turned and walked to the elevator. Fritz watched from his car until she got on the elevator and then he drove to his office.

* * *

Brenda held the elevator door open to allow several uniformed officers on. All but two got off on the next floor. As the doors closed and they began to rise, Brenda felt a gun in her back and heard a male voice saying, "Don't move and don't say a word," as the woman took her purse from her and removed her gun.

Brenda had followed elevator etiquette and had not looked closely at the officers when they had boarded. If she had, she would have noticed the woman's high cheekbones. However, the woman was now a blonde with slightly buck teeth. Brenda started to turn around and look at the man but he struck her sharply in the back of her head and ordered her not to move. Then he applied pressure to the Hichu pressure point until she lost consciousness as the woman stopped the elevator between floors. She withdrew a needle and syringe from her purse and injected Brenda with its contents. The man produced a large folded nylon duffle bag from underneath the coat he was carrying over his arm. They both worked to stuff Brenda into it. The woman placed her purse in the far corner of the elevator as the man zipped the bag and then pushed the button to start moving again. At the next floor, he pushed the down button and they rode back down to the parking garage where they hoisted the duffle bag into the trunk of a gray Crown Vic and headed out onto the street.

* * *

Brenda's squad was restless. They didn't know why their Chief hadn't come in and hadn't called. As they were debating whether or not to call her home, Taylor entered the murder room and asked, "Where is Chief Johnson?"

"We don't know. We were wondering the same thing," Flynn replied.

"Well, tell her I need to see her when she gets in," Taylor said as he walked out.

Later, when she still hadn't appeared and hadn't called in, Gabriel called her cell and then her home. When there was no answer he called Fritz.

Fritz immediately tensed. He knew something had to be wrong because David rarely called him. "Yes, Sergeant, is Brenda all right?"

This startled Gabriel. "Well, that's why I'm calling. She hasn't come in yet and there's no answer on her cell phone or at your house. Do you know where she is?"

Fritz jumped to his feet. "I followed her into the parking garage this morning and I saw her get on your elevator."

"Well, sir, she never made it up to the office," David replied.

"Sergeant, someone reported a blue Ford sedan stolen last night. Find that car!" Fritz yelled into the phone and then he hung up.

David didn't know what to make of the situation but he felt acid rising in his stomach when he realized that something terrible must have happened to the Chief. He relayed what Fritz had said to the rest of the squad and Tao immediately started searching for information on the stolen Ford sedan. But no one had any ideas on what to do next.

"We don't have enough information to do anything," Det. Daniels said, frustrated.

"No, but Agent Howard apparently knows something he's not telling us," Provenza replied and dialed Fritz's office number but it was busy. After several tries he finally left a message then asked, "Does anyone know his cell phone number?"

But no one did and with nothing more to go on, they just sat there for a moment until Tao said, "Here's the report of the stolen Ford sedan. There's nothing in it except that the owner, an 82 year old woman in West Hollywood, looked out her window and saw that her car was missing. So, nothing helpful until we find it."

As Tao spoke, a Robbery-Homicide detective walked into the Murder Room holding a familiar large, black purse. "This was found in the elevator," he explained, stunning everyone. "We had to have a sniffer dog check it out before we returned it to her."

They were all desperately tossing out ideas about how to proceed when Taylor came back into the Murder Room. They explained what had happened and he immediately went to Chief Pope's office to inform him. Will's face drained of all color and he ordered Taylor to initiate an all-out search for that car. Then he went to the Murder Room and asked to be briefed on what had happened. They told him how secretive the Chief had been and how she had forgotten information about their case, but they also had to tell him that they had no idea what had been going on.

"Well, put it together. Pronto! We have to get her back!" Will barked. "Lieutenant, I want to be briefed on everything that happens. Find Chief Johnson. That's an order!" and he spun around and left the Murder Room.

* * *

Fritz started for the door but realized he needed to call Elaine first so he went back to his desk, looked up her number, and picked up his phone. After telling her of Gabriel's call, he asked her to track her shoes and said he was on his way over to her office.

When he arrived Elaine told him that the transmitters in her shoes indicated that she had been heading south on the I-5 but she was now out of range. They had no idea where she was.

"She was planning on staying in the office today," Fritz said with naked fear in his voice as he ran his fingers through his hair, desperately trying to think of something he could do.

"Our only hope is that she activates her watch," Elaine said with worry in her voice.

Elaine thought that Fritz looked terrible. His tie was too loose and his shirt was coming untucked. His hair was rumpled and his expression was frantic. "Fritz, I know this is hard, but you can't stay here. Go home. There might be a ransom demand."

But they both knew that ransom played no part in this kidnapping. When Fritz didn't give any indication that he had heard her, she picked up her phone and called to ask if Brenda had activated her watch. As she hung up the phone Fritz looked at her hopefully. "No, not yet. She may be trying to save the battery. We'll do our best to find her, Fritz. Go home. I will call just as soon as I hear something. I promise."

Fritz nodded and left but he sat in his car for a long time. His mind was reeling and he felt sick. All he could think about was Brenda. What had that sick bastard Pollatsik done to her? Was she still alive? Was she being tortured? He wanted to throw up but he knew he didn't have that luxury so he gripped his steering wheel and forced himself to breathe deeply. _I'm no good to Brenda if I don't pull it together. _He reached over to the transceiver on the passenger seat and turned the volume up as loud as it would go, then started his car and pulled out into traffic.

He didn't go home, though. He drove back to his office to talk to his boss. As much as Dave Martin didn't like Brenda's tactics in dealing with their mutual cases, Fritz was confident that he would do everything he could to help.

"Fritz, you look like hell. What's wrong?" Dave was alarmed. His best agent looked like he was falling apart at the seams.

When Dave heard Fritz's story, he sat stunned into silence. Finally he exclaimed, "Jesus Christ, Fritz!" He then lowered his voice and asked, "What can the Bureau do to help?"

"I don't know. I've been monitoring the transceiver and there hasn't been a sound. I don't know what to do," Fritz's voice was thin with panic.

"You can give me the frequency numbers so I can help you monitor," Dave suggested as he pulled a transceiver from his cabinet. He nodded, pulled out his notebook, found the page with the frequencies, and handed it to Dave.

Fritz had left Dave's door open when he rushed in and other agents were gathering in the hallway. Their co-worker's uncharacteristically unkempt appearance and Dave's epithet drew them, hoping to glean some information. Although they hadn't heard Fritz's explanation of events, it was evident that something was seriously wrong. Everyone was speculating on what it could be, and most of them surmised that Fritz's fiancée had once again done something that had upset the delicate equilibrium between the LAPD and the Bureau.

"Come on," Dave said, getting up from his chair, "We're going to talk to Director Walling." And they both sprinted past the agents in the hallway without acknowledging them.

Dir. Walling listened to Fritz, then picked up the phone and called Elaine Donahue. When she answered he put the call on speakerphone before asking what role the Bureau could play to assist them.

"John, I understand that Agent Howard feels he needs to rescue Chief Johnson. We all feel that way. But this has to remain a CIA case…"

Dir. Walling interrupted her, "Elaine, we don't want to start a turf war but we are better suited to working in the U.S. We want to help, not take over."

"All right. We might need air support and manpower backup."

"We can supply that. I'll alert our Air Mobility Services to have both a plane and helicopters ready."

"Yes, AMS support is a good idea. Thank you, John. But I feel the need to be clear. Brenda is a friend and, of course, I want to rescue her. But Károly Pollatsik is a global menace and we need to get him, and that must be the Company's highest priority."

"I understand. The Bureau will help in any way we can. Keep in touch," and he ended the call.

Dave turned to Fritz and said, "We're going to do all we can, Fritz."

"I know you will. It's just frustrating having to wait," Fritz sighed. But he didn't have any choice. Fritz was fighting to hang on to all his faculties. The only thing he could think about was what Brenda could be going through and it was driving him crazy. Dir. Walling's and Dave's words barely registered with him.

"I'd like to order you to go home and get some sleep but I know you couldn't sleep. So go to your office, shut the door, turn off the lights, and close your eyes. You've got a transceiver so you'll hear the instant something happens. That's a direct order, Fritz," Dir. Walling said.

Fritz nodded and returned to his office. But sitting in the darkened room, he couldn't clear his mind. The knowledge that Brenda's safe return was no one's top priority except his paralyzed him.

_To Be Continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This is the last chapter in my story about Brenda's CIA world. In my version of Brenda's and Fritz's story they both served in the CIA before their law enforcement careers. If you haven't read it already, please go back and read "Hollenbeck" to read about their start in the CIA and how they first met.**

**Chapter 5:**

Brenda tried to open her eyes. There was no light and someone… no, something… was lying on top of her. Whatever it was, although it wasn't heavy, was wrapped tightly around her and constricting her movements. She tried to turn her head so she could breathe but there was no way to escape whatever was cocooning her. Her legs hurt from being cramped. She tried to move them but couldn't. Breathing was difficult so she tried to move her head to get more air, but her cheek was pressing against something hard. She heard the car's engine, felt the sway and rolled slightly when the car braked so she could tell that she was moving. When she tried to take a deep breath the car exhaust smell added to her nausea and headache. Finally, she surrendered to the blackness again.

She came to when the tape covering her mouth was ripped off and a cold, wet cloth was pressed against her face. Her mouth was dry and she tried to suck a few drops from the cloth but the acrid taste stopped her. When it was taken away, she tried to open her eyes but squinted against the stabbing pain in her head so she closed her eyes again. She was slumped in a rickety, broken chair with something binding her hands behind the chair. Her legs were now tied, and even though they were no longer folded up against her, they still throbbed.

The pain in her head hadn't sufficiently subsided to enable her to open her eyes but she heard a man's voice say, "Ah, good. You're coming around." Her mouth was too dry, and her head hurt too much to respond. And she was too nauseous and dizzy to think. She let her body remain limp against the back of the chair. She felt the man try to replace the tape over her mouth but it would no longer stick to her wet skin so he gave up and left her alone.

Eventually her mind began to clear. Although she kept her eyes closed and remained still, she became acutely aware of sounds. She heard a plane taking off. And, in the distance, she heard a ship's horn. As she sat still with her eyes closed she heard footfalls and decided that it was a man. Since there was no conversation she thought she must be being guarded by only one person. When she heard more footfalls and a door squeaking, then the scrape of a latch, she carefully opened her eyes. She was in an empty hangar. Other than the one man whose voice she had heard, she was apparently alone. She craned her neck searching for clues to her location. She remembered her watch and flexed her hands against the restraint. She was relieved that she was still wearing it and that she could reach its face but she didn't turn it on. When she heard a toilet flush and the latch move again she shut her eyes and resumed playing dead. She needed time to clear her head and think before she attempted to engage him.

As she sat there, she thought of Fritz. How long had it been since she'd seen him? Would she ever see him again? One regret consumed her: she hadn't told Fritz that she loved him when she left him in the parking garage. But he had told her, and his last words of love strengthened her resolve to see him again.

Suddenly the man slapped her across the face. "Wake up!" he shouted. She struggled to sit upright in the broken chair and opened her eyes. "That's better," the man said and walked over to another chair about ten feet away and sat facing her.

Brenda tested her hand restraints. _Not handcuffs and not rope. Thin. Zip ties,_ she concluded. But it felt to her that her legs were tied with something else, something heavier. _Rope_. Then she decided it was time to try to engage the man guarding her so she carefully and gently squeezed her watch face and asked, "Where are we?" When he didn't answer she said, "That's an awfully wide door so we've got to be in an empty airport hangar. I heard a prop plane and a ship's horn off in the distance." She desperately hoped that Fritz and Elaine were hearing those clues to her location, but the man to whom her question was addressed still said nothing. Brenda tried again. "What time is it? I see blue sky with a lot of orange. Is it sunup or sundown? It's chilly but not too cold. How long was I out?"

"Shut up," the man commanded. "You'll find out what you need to know when we're ready to tell you. If we decide to tell you."

"Who is 'we'? What's your name? Why did you kidnap me? Why are you involved in this?"

The man got up from his chair, walked over to Brenda and slapped her again, harder this time. "SHUT UP!" he yelled, then walked back to his chair, sat down, and picked up a book and began reading.

Brenda's jaw ached from his blow. She knew she wouldn't get anything further from this man so she turned off the watch and studied him. He was burly, probably in his early 50s, beginning to bald, and had closely cropped hair. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark blue long sleeve shirt. She realized that this was "Halloween Man" and the same man who had called her. But she wondered, _Where are Margit and Pollatsik?_

While he picked up his book, Rudy kept his eye on Brenda. Even though he was sure she couldn't move, he was still irritated by the boldness of her questions and so he glared at her in expectation that his menacing expression would silence her.

_Why am I involved in this, bitch? Are you so stupid that you don't realize that it's money? A lot of money. Oh, Károly thinks I'm doing it out of loyalty to a cousin killed in your little action but I never met him. No, I'm more interested in money than in revenge or family loyalty._

Rudy was clearly willing to do anything if the price was right. As he opened his book he thought about what that money was going to give him: the wonderful life of a millionaire in Central America.

* * *

Fritz heard Brenda's voice on the transceiver and instantly was on his feet. He was so consumed with relief that she was alive that he wasn't sure he had taken in all she had said. But then he heard a man hit her and he was immediately hurled into the throes of rage.

Without knocking, Dave opened his door and asked, "Did you hear her?"

"I heard her voice. Do you remember all the clues? I just remember something about planes and a ship. He hit her, Dave. THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE HIT HER!" Fritz screamed.

"I know, Fritz, but you have to calm down if you're going to be able to help her." When he saw Fritz take a breath and nod, Dave continued, "Now, she specifically mentioned prop planes and a ship's horn but she didn't mention jets, so I'm guessing that she's near a small airport."

"And it has to be close to the ocean," Fritz added. Then he remembered her saying something about it being either sunset or sunrise and that it was cool but not cold. "She's got to be somewhere in this area," he realized as he looked out the window at the colors of the sunset.

"I've got a map and an airport list in my office. Come on," Dave barked and both men ran down the hall.

"There are hundreds of small airports in the region," Dave said as he unfolded his map.

"But not that many near enough to the ocean that she could hear a ship's horn."

As both men studied the map Fritz remembered the airport security tape. "Pollatsik moved like he was in a lot of pain. I doubt he would want to get too far from whatever his getaway transportation is. So, let's concentrate on small airfields within a 50 mile radius of LAX." Then he remembered something else. "Elaine said that she was moving south on the I-5 before they lost her, so let's check south of LA."

As they studied the map, Dave pulled out a red sharpie and drew rings around the airports that would handle mostly prop planes while Fritz dialed Elaine. When she answered he put her on speaker.

"Fritz, I heard her. And I've got operatives ready to head out," she said.

"We're looking at small airports handling prop planes that are close enough to the ocean for Brenda to hear a ship's horn."

"If she heard a ship's horn she has to be near a port or harbor traffic," Elaine added.

"True, but we don't know if that could be around Long Beach, Newport Beach or even farther south," Fritz said in frustration.

"She could have been hearing one of the Catalina ferries," Elaine theorized.

"Her watch is off again for now. She's probably saving the battery. We can split up and start checking the local airports," Dave said. They decided to concentrate on checking the airports south of LAX and Elaine dispatched agents to the closest ones.

* * *

After about half an hour of silence Brenda decided if she could move around she might get more clues so she said, "I've got to go to the bathroom."

The man made no move but said, "Not yet," and continued reading.

Since the man was preoccupied with his book, Brenda carefully explored the back of the broken chair. As she had hoped, she found a jagged metal edge and began trying to cut through the zip ties binding her wrists but progress was slow. She had to be careful because she didn't want to activate her watch and she didn't want the man to notice what she was doing. As she worked, she heard another helicopter and it sounded like it was landing next to the hangar. The man folded down the corner of the page and set the book on the empty work table beside him. He got up, peered out a side door and walked to the hangar door and pushed the button to raise it.

Two figures were illuminated by the light from inside the hangar. Brenda recognized Margit as the blonde in the elevator who now pushed Pollatsik's wheelchair into the hangar. Pollatsik said something to the man that Brenda couldn't hear. Then the man lowered the door once more and took up his post by the side door. Margit wheeled Pollatsik to within ten feet of Brenda.

* * *

Fritz's phone rang. "It's Elaine," he said to Dave as he answered and punched the speakerphone button. "Yes, Elaine. Have you heard anything else?"

"Maybe. We received a report that an incoming military plane had to circle and saw a helicopter flying into a little used private air strip after dark. And he's never seen any activity there at night because it's a small field with no runway lights. He said they've never seen helicopters using that facility, either. They tried to raise it on the radio but the pilot didn't answer. Apparently no laws were broken but the contact said it was unusual."

"Which airport?" Fritz was so nervous he thought he would hyperventilate.

"Dawson Field."

"I've got it," Dave said as he pointed to one of his red circles. "It's just south of here. We've got a chopper standing by."

"All right, Elaine, we're rolling now," Fritz barked.

"My men are on their way, too. And, Fritz, good luck."

Fritz thought that Elaine's last two words sounded like the prayer he was feeling, but in his hurry, he disconnected the call without replying.

* * *

No one said a word as Brenda and Pollatsik studied each other. Finally, Brenda broke the silence in order to deflect attention from her arm movement needed to activate her watch. "Well, hello there, Károly. It's been a long time." Her voice displayed more bravado than she felt.

"Ah, CIA Agent Brenda Leigh Johnson. It has been a long time," Pollatsik greeted her in Czech. "I see you are not changed. You are still as beautiful as ever, Liebchen," Pollatsik said. "Allow me to introduce to you Margit Bálint. You will remember her father, Viktor? You killed him when you shot me. You are already meeting my other assistant, Rudy Schalek. His cousin was another casualty in your endeavor." He turned and ordered Rudy to tell the helicopter pilot to prepare for take-off so Rudy immediately left the hangar.

Brenda didn't acknowledge the assistants. Instead she looked steadily into Pollatsik's eyes and replied in flawless Czech, "I did not kill Viktor, and I am no longer with the CIA. But you already know that since you had Rudy call me at work."

"Ah, you remember your excellent Czech. But I am right about the occasion. That was a happy occasion for you, I am sure, Liebchen, since you received a field decoration for your work. And difficult work it must have been, allowing me to purchase for you exquisite clothes and jewels and escort you to the most exclusive places in Istanbul. It must have been excruciating for you to eat the most excellent food and drink the finest wines in the world, which I provided to you."

"My whole team received the commendation. I was not singled out," Brenda replied.

"IT WAS YOU WHO SHOT ME!" Pollatsik screamed in fury but he immediately lowered his voice and smiled. "And it was your action, was it not? Which led to years of constant pain and longing to see you again from my prison cell."

* * *

Fritz was sitting in the chopper, picking up Brenda's conversation on his headphones. He was listening intently to Brenda's and Pollatsik's conversation even though he didn't speak Czech. He was attempting to decipher Brenda's frame of mind and he was relieved to hear a calm and steady voice with no trace of fear or pain, despite her having been struck earlier. Even so, he was terrified that Pollatsik would further hurt her. As he listened he leaned forward, willing the chopper to fly faster.

Elaine's voice intruded. "Agents, be very careful. Remember that these are extremely important packages so pick them up as gently as possible," she ordered.

* * *

"Surely you have not gone to so much trouble to bring me here in order to reminisce about old times, Károly. What are your intentions?" Brenda was amazed that she was able to keep her voice steady with no trace of the fear she was feeling.

"Ah, Liebchen, just to see you again is a dear reward. But you are correct. I have brought you here to pay a debt for many years I have owed to you," he smiled as he withdrew a gun from his coat pocket.

Brenda saw that it was a snub-nose revolver, probably not accurate for any distance work, but he could certainly kill her at such close range. She had to try harder to cut through the zip ties so she had to begin talking again.

"Do you intend to kill me, Károly? Is that the 'debt' you are speaking of? I think you are exacting too much interest, Károly. After all, I did not kill you. You are alive still."

"Oh, no, my Liebchen. I have no intention to kill you. It is my intention to put bullet through your leg the same way you put your bullet into me. That way you can live the rest of your life in the pain and in the wheelchair I have come to know so well. I think it is fair. Do you not agree, Liebchen?" As he spoke he raised his gun and pointed it at her leg and fired.

Brenda's heart stopped beating for a minute but she quickly regained her composure. She was determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear.

"There was no bullet there," he smiled. He spun the barrel and said, "Let us discover if this is bullet, shall we? But first." He stopped and asked Margit to wheel him up to Brenda's side. "The debt requires that the bullet hit you in the same place that I was hit. Is it not so, Liebchen?"

Margit did as she was asked, just as Brenda finally sawed through the zip ties, freeing her wrists. But as Brenda was gauging her move to take the gun from Károly, Margit suddenly pulled a stiletto from her shoulder bag and plunged it into Pollatsik's neck. His expression changed from a malevolent smile to horror. He grabbed his neck with both hands, gurgled, and fell forward, his blood spurting into the air.

As he tumbled to the floor, Brenda jumped to her feet. Margit, still holding the stiletto, moved toward Brenda and said, "It is your time now. I kill Károly and now I kill you as well."

Brenda froze but did not sit down. "Why did you kill him?"

"Because of both of you my father died. Károly is dead and now it is your time."

"But, Margit, neither one of us killed your father."

"For his death you both bear responsibility."

They heard more helicopters as well as men shouting, and Margit turned to look at the hangar door just as Brenda elbowed her in the stomach, hoping to knock her off balance. Margit doubled over in pain and Brenda knocked the knife from her hand while landing a blow with her elbow at the base of her neck. Margit was dazed and fell to the floor just as Rudy rushed back into the hangar. He pulled his gun and shot out the hangar door at an unseen enemy.

Even though the return fire made Brenda realize that the cavalry had arrived, she knew she was not yet safe. So she sat down and used the stiletto to cut the ropes binding her legs. As she was working feverishly to free her legs, Margit moaned and tried to stand up so Brenda pressed the stiletto against her back and ordered, "Remain down and be still or my men will kill you." Margit complied as Rudy continued firing outside until he was out of ammunition.

Suddenly the hangar was filled with navy blue FBI jackets and other plain clothed men Brenda knew to be CIA operatives. She saw two of them grab and handcuff Rudy as the rest continued toward her and Margit. But she was only interested in one man and she immediately saw him as he broke through the crowd and rushed to her.

"Brenda! Brenda! Honey, are you all right?" Fritz sounded frantic. He was rushing at her so fast that she was afraid that he would bowl her over.

"I'm ok," she replied and raised her hand to slow him down. Two plain clothed men took Margit into custody while another checked Pollatsik but found no signs of life. Fritz took Brenda in his arms and, as he held her, was overwhelmed by the realization that she was alive and once more safe.

Brenda held onto Fritz as tightly as she could while he buried his face in her hair. She marveled at how good it felt to lay her head on his shoulder and how strong his arms felt as they enfolded her. She heard his rapidly beating heart slow to normal and the comforting knowledge that she was both loved and protected flooded over her.

"What took you so long," she asked with a smile when her emotions finally permitted her to speak.

"I guess Mark Antony's chariot wasn't as fast as Cleopatra's," he said as he visually checked her over for injury. "Come on. We're going to get you checked out at the ER."

"No, Fritzi. I don't need to go to a hospital. I'm fine. Really."

"Just humor me. I need to hear a doctor say that you're fine," and they walked out of the hangar.

Brenda rested her head on Fritz's shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry about?"

"When I said goodbye, I didn't tell you that I love you."

"I know you love me, honey."

She stopped and looked up into his eyes. "But just so it's been said, I love you with all my heart, Fritz Howard." And she kissed him.

They boarded the chopper, and as it rose into the air, Brenda watched the hangar shrink in size and finally disappear from view. To her it was a symbol of her old life finally shrinking and moving from her. Oh, she knew that she would be debriefed by the CIA, but that would be the final purge.

* * *

As they pulled up in front of their home, Brenda thought her humble little bungalow was more beautiful than the most spectacular mansion in Beverly Hills, in spite of the ridiculous Halloween decorations still on the porch.

It had been a lifetime since they had put up those decorations. She noticed that no other house on their street still had them up. But she focused her attention on the ghost swinging in the breeze beside the fiber optic spider web. "I had to deal with a real ghost today, she said quietly to the grinning apparition nodding at her on her porch, "And neither of you have any more power over me."

Fritz put his arm around her and hugged her. "Come on. Let's go inside. I promise to take everything down as soon as I get you comfortable. Would you like me to make you a cup of hot cocoa?"

"That sounds wonderful. And is there any Halloween candy left?" she asked as she put her arm around his waist.

And so, with their arms around each other, they walked back into their lives.

_The End_

**A/N: Even though this story is fiction, I researched the inner workings of the CIA in order to bring you the most accurate story possible. And now I'd like to hear from you. Please leave your review. Thank you.**


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